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Surgical Ventricular Remodeling

Surgical ventricular remodeling, or SVR, is a procedure that reshapes and restores efficiency to hearts that have become weakened and enlarged (left ventricular aneurysm), often due to a heart attack. Tissue damage creates scars that gradually grow and change the size and shape of the heart. If the altered shape of the left ventricle—the heart’s left lower chamber—renders it too weak to pump adequately, blood backs up and pools in the lungs, resulting in symptoms such as shortness of breath, a rapid heartbeat and/or chest pain (angina). By removing scarred or weakened muscle and returning the heart to its original shape, SVR allows it to pump blood more efficiently and prevents rupture of weakened heart tissue.

SVR is a traditional open surgery in which a heart-lung machine keeps the body functioning while the heart is stopped and the patient is under general anesthesia. The surgeon locates, and may remove, the scar tissue in the left ventricle. Then, using stitches or both stitches and a patch, the surgeon permanently separates the scar tissue from the functioning heart muscle, then reuniting healthy sections of tissue to form a smaller, more powerful ventricle that can contract properly in order to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.

Why Temple?

As a specialist center, the Temple Heart & Vascular Institute has access to sophisticated facilities—including hybrid operating rooms with special imaging equipment—equipping our highly experienced team with the latest technology for complex procedures like SVR. Temple surgeons help patients understand the risks and benefits of each option, and may be able to combine multiple heart procedures (such as SVR and coronary artery bypass) in a single surgery in order to provide a more efficient and less stressful experience for the patient.

At age 84, James discovered that his aortic valve was damaged and needed to be replaced. Having undergone open heart surgery for another condition years before, James had already experienced a lengthy and painful recovery process, and did not want to endure another traditional procedure. Instead, he came to the Temple Heart & Vascular Institute for a minimally-invasive treatment option - transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Doris O., a 78-year- old from Northeast Philadelphia, has always been very active. Up to this year, she had not seen a doctor in more than 20 years. She took no medications. And, as far as she knew, she never had a heart problem.

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Temple Health refers to the health, education and research activities carried out by the affiliates of Temple University Health System (TUHS) and by the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. TUHS neither provides nor controls the provision of health care. All health care is provided by its member organizations or independent health care providers affiliated with TUHS member organizations. Each TUHS member organization is owned and operated pursuant to its governing documents.